Known catalysts used in the production of olefins suffer from several disadvantages. For example, solid catalysts suffer from relatively slow heat and/or mass transfer. As such, the speed and efficiency of a chemical reaction for the production of olefins is limited by the relatively long time necessary for heat penetration into or escape from the catalyst and by the relatively long time necessary for various molecules to physically interact with the solid catalyst.
The reactivity of the zeolite-based catalysts in high temperature and high humidity environments is low due to the generation of coke during the cracking process and the dealumination of the zeolite-based catalysts. Therefore, hydrocarbon cracking using zeolite-based catalysts requires use of circulating fluidized bed reactors to reduce the deactivation of the zeolite-based catalysts.
Typically, steam cracking processes operate at high temperatures of over 830° C. and increase the deposition of coke on the surface of a reaction tube, which interferes with heat transfer. To compensate for the heat transfer interference, the temperature of the reaction tube is increased, which further increases energy consumption.